Sure would!!

[ward.r]

Greetings, All!
I don’t recall seeing a group shot like this before so thought I’d pull it together to share with a hopefully-appreciative audience…



From left to right:
• Sherwood M -14k case, 22j 770 mvmt, “American Walnut” dial, cataloged ’61-’62, retail priced at $175 (reduced to $150 in ’62!).
• Sherwood N -14k case, 17j 667 auto mvmt, “Mexican Mahogany” dial, cataloged ’61-’62, retail priced at $150 (reduced to $140 in ’62).
• Sherwood R -14k yellow case with “Benin” dial and 14k white case with “American Walnut” dial, both with 22j 770 mvmts, cataloged ’61-62, retail priced at $135 (reduced to $125 in ’62).
• Sherwood T –10kgf case, 22j 770 mvmt, “Teakwood” dial, cataloged ’62 only, retail priced at $79.50 (with strap, $89.50 with optional wood-inlaid bracelet).
• Sherwood S -10kgf case, 17j 748 mvmt, “Mexican Mahogany” dial, cataloged ’62 only, retail priced at $75 (with strap; $85 with optional wood-inlaid bracelet).

$175 in ’61 had the buying power of approx $1325 today!

Rene Rondeau researched and published a fascinating article on these watches (initially published as the cover story of the NAWCC Bulletin in June ’91; re-published subsequently within his Hamilton Collector’s Guide) –it’s well-worth tracking down!

Hamilton spent a significant amount of R&D effort sourcing the wood, developing the processes for reducing the thickness of the veneers (by half –down to 0.006 inches!) and forming them to the dial contours and developing an epoxy which would bond effectively without staining the veneers.

Only to have these watches fail to catch the eyes (and wallets) of the public.

I just can’t get enough of these fantastic time capsules, so when someone asks me, “Sherwood?” I can only respond, “Sure would!!”

Happy Hamilton Hunting,
Rusty

[HandyDan]

That collection can be summed up in one word... "WOW!"

[trim]

Wonderful

[Nookster]

Great stuff Rusty, hang in there, one day you will have them all.......

Here are two other rare ones that you just don't ever see.

Bought the Pacer from Rene and the Thor from a collection purchase. Rene had told me he sold the Thor to the person I got it from

[Nookster]

Here is one I sold to a forum member that likes original bands. Hands were corrected before I sold it to him.

[HamiltonIllinois]

I was waiting for that Pacer to show up! I think it might be the only one where the wood grain sits horizontally instead of vertically?

[GLADIATOR]

Rusty
They are really lovely. I never seen a collection like that.
I NEVER even knew that existed = Thanks for sharing them
Truly cool.

[hamiltonelectric]

Beautiful collection, Rusty. Makes me wish I'd kept all of mine.... Once upon a time I had the biggest collection of Sherwoods in existence, with all variations of the men's watches and several prototypes that never went into production. The only one I've kept is a prototype Sherwood M with a 'lacewood plane' burled dial that belonged to Martin Ryan, who head up the project. Unfortunately I can't find a picture in my computer and the watch is in the bank. I need to pull that out and get some new pictures, the dial is really gorgeous.

On a different note, here's one of my all-time favorites from the spin-off project Hamilton did with different dial materials. They did wood, naugahyde, and mother-of-pearl. Only the wood was sold.

[Nookster]

Always loved those peral dials, great stuff.

[HamiltonIllinois]

Since Rene mentioned the MOP Pacer... here are 2 photos I've collected of these special Pacers... and a Flight (II, I think) for fun.

(Photo from Rene Rondeau)

(Photo from Rene Rondeau)